


In My Daughter's Eyes

by Ariebean



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Family, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-05-03
Updated: 2012-05-03
Packaged: 2017-11-19 04:03:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 9,912
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/568869
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ariebean/pseuds/Ariebean
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dean gets a phone call at 2am that changes his life forever. Story begins during the start of S6 so it includes soulless Sam, Lisa, Ben, Bobby and basically everything else the show had at the time and progresses into S7. Rated T until further notice. OC</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Phone Call

Disclaimer: Of course I don't own Supernatural lol 333

It was 2am when his cellphone began to vibrate on the nightstand next to his bed. A part of him wanted to ignore it and go back to sleep but the obnoxiously loud buzzing seemed to get more demanding with every vibration, more urgent. Dean grumbled in frustration and gently moved Lisa's arm from across his chest so he could answer the call.

"Sammy, this better be good." He grumbled into the phone

"Uhm, hello?" a voice said on the other end of the line, soft and feminine. Not Sammy.

"Hello? Who is this?" He asked pushing himself upright

He heard the girl breathing nervously into the receiver for a few seconds before the line went dead. Dean looked at his caller ID but he didn't recognize the number, the area code looked like it was from Missouri.

"Dean, honey is there something wrong?" Lisa asked groggily

"No, nothing. Go back to bed" He gave her a reassuring pat on the leg and rose from the bed.

"Was that Sam?" She asked

"No, I don't know who it was. Probably a wrong number"

"Oh. It's late baby why don't you come back to bed?"

"Yeah I'll be there in a minute" He smiled from the doorway "I just wanted to get a glass of water. You go to sleep"

"Okay" She sighed sleepily as he left.

Once Dean was downstairs again he pressed redial. It rang once, twice, but it stopped during the third ring, someone answered the call.

"Hello?"

Silence.

"Hello? Who is this?" Dean pressed

"Uhm, my name is Penny" The voice answered, it was very young like a small child

"Okay. Penny, how old are you?"

"Six" The child said meekly

"Well Penny does your mommy know that you're calling strangers in the middle of the night?"

There was a long pause "No" She said in a whisper

"Oh. Well then you probably shouldn't do it then should you?"

Silence. Suddenly an eerie feeling washed over him. Something wasn't right.

"Penny, how did you get this number anyway?"

"It was in my mommy's phone"

"Really? What is your mommy's name?"

Silence

"Penny? Are you still there sweetheart?"

"I can't"

"Penny this is very important okay? You called me for a reason and I would like to help you, but you have to tell me what your mommy's name is"

"If I tell you do you promise not to tell on me? I'm not supposed to tell you" Her voice was small and pleading

"Okay I promise"

"Cassie"

Cassie. The sound of the name nearly knocked the wind out of him. His Cassie, his first love now who is probably married and now has a daughter, a flood of memories washed over him so completely that it took him a few moments to remember that he had her little girl on the line.

"Oh. Yes, your mommy and I are very good friends Penny" His voice caught in his throat a little as he felt the slight sting of her words 'I'm not supposed to tell you'. Why not? It didn't have to be this way between them. They could have still been friends. "But if she told you not to call me then you really shouldn't. You should be in bed right now, what would she say if she saw you awake at this hour?"

"I had to call" She whined desperately. He couldn't shake the weird feeling he was getting from her. Why did she have to call? He asked to himself before repeating the question out loud.

"Why did you have to call Penny?"

"Because you're my daddy" She sniffled

"Excuse me?" He could feel the blood draining from his face as chills ran up his spine

"You're my daddy" Penny sobbed into the phone

"Penny, Penny listen to me, I think there's been some mistake. I'm not your father." He could hardly breathe

"Oh. I guess I got the number wrong" She said hopelessly

"Probably" He said heaving a sigh of relief "What's your daddy's name?"

"Dean Westchester"

"Dean Winchester?" He asked as goosebumps assaulted his entire body

"Yeah"

"I'm Dean Winchester"

"Oh. Then you're my daddy"

"Penny, Penny, Penny" He stammered, the room was spinning around him "Pu-put your mother on the phone"

"I can't. My mommy isn't here." She said whispering again

"Where is she?" Dean demanded, his stomach tied itself into knots

"In heaven"

"In he-" He gaped "Your mother is dead?"

Silence.

"I need to talk to whoever is taking care of you right now"

"You can't! You promised!" She shrieked

"Penny this is very important. I need to speak to-"

The line went dead. He stood alone in the darkness of his girlfriend's living room staring at his phone with the child's words swimming in the air and into his head. Cassie is dead. Penny is his daughter. No. It can't be true. He ran back up the stairs and grabbed a duffel bag from his bedroom. Lisa flicked on a light.

"Dean?" She asked rubbing the sleep from her eyes

He didn't answer, he couldn't answer. He stuffed a few shirts inside of the bag and dug through his dresser for a few pairs of jeans.

"Dean, do you want to tell me what the hell is going on here?"

"I have to get out of here for a few days. I have some things to take care of in Missouri." He said gruffly as he slipped on a pair of crumpled jeans he had just dropped on the floor.

"Work?"

"Unfinished business" He said as he laced his boots

"Dean, wait, slow down for a second. Talk to me" Lisa pleaded as she slid out of bed

"I can't right now. I'll call." He said from the bedroom doorway moving quickly before she had the chance to reel him back in for a goodbye kiss. He didn't have the time.


	2. Beautiful Stranger

It took until around noon for Dean to reach Cape Girardeau, Missouri but when he did the nostalgia almost brought up the three cups of coffee and two doughnuts that he gulfed down during his trip into his mouth. His stomach was completely unsettled, somehow he still hoped that this was all a dream and he would wake up in the morning next to Lisa where he belonged; the pounding in his head, however, was a constant reminder that this situation was very real. He had a daughter? Impossible. Cassie would have told him about it the moment she found out. Wouldn't she? "You know what? I'm a realist. I don't see much hope for us, Dean". That's what she had told him, those were her last words to him before their last goodbye. What did being a realist have to do with picking up the phone as a heads up? "Hi Dean, just calling to say hey, oh and by the way I have a freaking person growing inside of me that's half yours". Dean's phone began to ring in the middle of his mind rant. It was Lisa. Again. He picked up the phone this time.

"Hello?"

"Dean, where are you? I've been worried sick"

"I told you Leese, I have something to take care of in Missouri"

"And it's not a case"

"Its unfinished business"

"Yeah I caught that when you sprinted out this morning at 2am. So are you going to tell me what's going on?"

"I'll tell you as soon as I know"

"Is this about Sam?"

He felt a small pang in his gut at the mention of his brother's name. His brother who he had thought was dead for a year but who was actually alive and well, carrying on fine without him. Or at least pretending to be fine, there was something off about him as well.

"No, this isn't about Sam"

"Fine, just be careful okay? Are you going to be back in time for Ben's soccer game?"

Crap. That was today wasn't it?

"I'm about nine hours away"

"So no" Her voice dropped in disappointment "He was really looking forward to you being there"

"Yeah I know" Dean sighed. The poor kid. "Tell him I'll make it up to him okay?"

Dean pulled up on the sidewalk outside of Cassie's house. There was a car in the driveway.

"Do you want to tell him yourself? I could call him over"

"Can you tell him for me sweetheart? I have to go"

"Sure. Don't worry about it, I'll tell him." She said trying her best to sound alright but he could hear the disappointment in her voice and it broke his heart

"Thanks Lisa"

"Bye Dean"

He flipped his phone closed and pressed the doorbell. He heard the sound of footsteps, hard and heavy as they approached the door. It was Cassie's mother who opened the door and she froze when she saw him.

"Hello Mrs. Robinson" Dean squinted at her guilty face

"Uh, Hello. May I help you?" She said shaking her head at him as though she didn't recognize his face

"Well I was just in the neighborhood, though I should pop in and say hello. Is Cassie home?" He raised an eyebrow

"No. Cassie, she went out and may not be back in a while but I'll tell her that you stopped by" Mrs. Robinson said quickly and began closing the door again. Dean stuck his foot into the doorway and pushed the door open again.

"Well if it's all the same to you I'll just wait for her here"

"I already told you, she wouldn't be back for a while-"

"I don't mind waiting" Dean smiled a brief one-second smile and slipped past her. The front room had changed, Cassie's small desk and work area in the back of the room had been transformed into a play area, complete with toys and pink costumes. Penny's toys and costumes. He blinked hard and turned back to Cassie's mother who was staring at him, her face ashen with guilt and fear.

"This place has changed a lot since I've seen it last" He cocked his head at her

"Yes, it has" She nodded back at him as she played with her fingers nervously. He turned his attention to a mantle lined with pictures above a television. Dean strode towards it slowly. In the first few that his eyes glazed over Cassie smiled at him widely holding either a slice of birthday cake or an award most likely for journalism or whatever she had been into, but then one picture caught his eye. It wasn't Cassie or her mother or a group of friends. It was a baby, a little girl with light tan creamy skin and light brown hair spiraling down to her shoulders in soft curls. Her eyes were hazel and shaped just like his. Penny.

"What a beautiful little girl" He glared at the woman in the room over his shoulder

"Yes she is"

"Looks a lot like Cassie"

"That's her daughter"

"That must be why she looks so familiar" He smiled

"Yes, well, I'm sorry but you're going to have to leave, you see I have some errands to run. I'll have her call you." Mrs. Robinson said moving swiftly, taking the picture from his hands and placing it gently back on the mantle.

"Look Mrs. Robinson-" Dean began, he was growing tired of their charade

"Grandma" He heard a little girl call excitedly as she descended the stairs that lead to the front room.

"Oh dear" Mrs. Robinson sighed softly and then he saw her. The little girl from the picture, only a bit older, her hair a bit longer with very visible streaks of blonde in her hair, just like his mom. She had been waving a crayon drawn picture in her hands but when she entered the room her hands dropped to her sides and her enthusiasm evaporated along with her pretty little smile. Dean just stood there, staring in awe at the little girl. There was no doubt about it; she was his.

"Penny?" He breathed; she looked from him to her grandmother in terror

"How do you know her?" Mrs. Robinson let out a shrill gasp

"She called me last night. Told me everything" Dean answered with his eyes still on his little girl, deciding to drop all of the pretenses.

"Oh no" Mrs. Robinson whispered and closed her eyes

"Are you my-?" Penny directed at him as she clutched the bottom of her grandmother's pants tightly in her free hand

"I think we need to have a talk" Dean growled trying to bite back the sudden feelings of anger and utter betrayal  
________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

Mrs. Robinson could have denied it. She could have asked him to leave and called the cops on him if he refused. She could have told him any assortment of lies that he was sure that she had prepared just in case this situation were to arise, but she didn't. Her face was wrinkled, worn out, and exhausted to the core. She told him everything. Cassie had found out that she was pregnant two weeks after he left but decided that it was in everyone's best interest to keep it a secret from him considering his line of work.

"How could she?" Dean muttered bitterly, pushing the cup of coffee that Mrs. Robinson had just provided him with his fingers a few inches away from himself in a frustrated fidget.

"It was the hardest decision that she ever had to face"

"It wasn't her decision to make." He snapped

"Please try to understand, she never meant to hurt you"

"She never does"

"She only wanted to do what was best for her child" Mrs. Robinson pleaded

"Keeping her from her father was the best thing to do? Apparently not because I got a phone call at 2am from a little girl who was desperate to speak to her father."

"Please try to understand" Mrs. Robinson leaned her face into her hands "This was supposed to make things easier, less complicated"

Dean looked over his shoulder at the little girl sitting in the other room pretending to play with dolls while she eavesdropped on their conversation.

"How did she die?" He asked Mrs. Robinson without taking his eyes off of Penny

"Car accident last June. I almost contacted you then but I didn't know what to say. By then it was too late"

"I'm sorry about Cassie, if I'd have known-" He trailed off

"So now what do we do?" She asked after a few moments of silence "I suppose that you want to take her from me"

"I don't know. I don't know what to do right now" He closed his eyes and rubbed his brow

"I think you should take her." Mrs. Robinson said with a sudden urgency "Please just take her"

"What?"

"You're her father and you should take her" She nodded rising from her seat. "I'll go pack her things"

"Wait, hold on a minute" He said as he stood as well "For six years you've kept her hidden from me, you didn't allow her to talk to me at all, twenty minutes ago you were trying to rush me out of here and now you want me to take her? Just like that?"

"Don't you want her?" Her voice was thick and shaky, her eyes avoided his, and she bit her nail nervously. What the hell is going on here?

"You want me to just take her and go? She hasn't known me for more than five minutes"

"Penny honey come here" She called to the girl and reached out her hand. Penny took it.

"Penny, this is your daddy and you'll be living with him from now on"

"Wait a second" Dean's eyes were wide with confusion

"Go upstairs and pack your things"

"But grandma" Penny whimpered

"Go now. Hurry" She ordered and gave her granddaughter a gentle pat on the head. Penny ran out of the room and thumped up the stairs

"Wait a minute" Dean demanded, "Now are you going to tell me what the hell is going on?"

"She's your daughter, take her right now or leave"

"Oh you got to be kidding me" He grumbled, "This isn't happening"

"Well?" Mrs. Robinson looked at him with firm but pleading eyes. Desperate eyes.

Penny joined them again with a pink Cinderella rolling backpack in one hand and a stuffed pink elephant in her other.

"All packed?" Mrs. Robinson asked as she guided the little girl gently to the door

"Yes grandma"

"Your daddy is going to take care of you okay?"

"Will I see you again?" Penny asked sadly

"Yes of course"

"Lady-" Dean started as she gave him a less than gentle shove out of the door

"You take care now." She said closing the door abruptly in his face. He heard her bolt the locks on the other side of the door.

Dean knocked "Mrs. Robinson"

"Go away now please"

He knocked again

No answer

After three of four minutes of silence passed Dean gave up on knocking. He looked down at Penny who was looking up at him; her eyes were big and expectant, but mostly helpless. Dean heaved a sigh and took the keys out of his pocket as he walked towards the car. Her rolling backpack hit every bump on the sidewalk loudly as she followed. He opened the backseat and put her bag inside before turning back to the house.

"Can I at least have a freaking car seat?" He yelled

The door opened briefly and a small car seat was placed outside before it slammed shut again.

"Un-freaking-believable" He seethed as he walked back to retrieve it. Penny followed him.

"You can go wait by the car." He told her. She stopped in her tracks but didn't make a move back to the car. Dean grabbed the seat, inside of it was a folder with all of Penny's documentations in it, he grabbed that too and made his way back down the sidewalk, passing her on his way, she followed.

"Do you know how to use this thing?" He asked her after he strapped the chair into the backseat. She nodded and climbed inside of the car. Dean walked to the driver's side and opened it, taking one last glance at Cassie's house before he got inside. Mrs. Robinson watched from the window, her face red from crying. She was holding a tissue. He closed the door and turned the key in the ignition.

"Are you strapped?" He asked over his shoulder. Penny nodded and held her pink elephant close. Dean took a deep breath and closed his eyes. What the hell has he gotten himself into?


	3. Cheeseburger

Usually when there was an uncomfortable silence in the car, Dean would flip on the radio to drown out the tension but there was something about the kid watching everything he did with her large peering eyes that made him feel too awkward to even do that much. He glanced at her through his rearview mirror to find that she was already staring back at him with her arms clenched around her elephant. He shifted in his seat and cleared his throat.

"Did you eat yet?"

She shook her head no

"Are you hungry?"

She nodded her head yes

"Okay I'm going to stop somewhere so we can eat okay?"

She nodded again

"Okay" He gave her a quick smile and looked around for the nearest restaurant. McDoodle King's Burger Castle was 1 mile away so he drove them there.

Dean parked the car in the crowded lot; he was lucky to have arrived just as someone else was pulling out. The place was full to capacity. He got out, walked to the back passenger door, and opened it. Penny had already unstrapped herself, when he opened the door she slid out. He closed the door behind her and started towards the fast food restaurant, she slipped her hand into his and walked beside him. Her hand was so soft and small in his; he wrapped his fingers around her palm delicately and led her inside.

"Welcome to McDoodle King's Burger Castle how may I help you today?" A lethargic teenager with a crooked nametag that said Bernard sighed at him from behind the counter.

"Hi uh, Bernard, I'd like to order a double baconator with cheese, large fries, and a large Dr. Cola and uh" Dean looked down at Penny who was staring up at him. When was the last time this kid blinked?

"And uh kid's meal" He said turning his attention back to the cashier

"What kind of toy do you want with that?" Bernard huffed

"What? I don't know"

"This month we have our Fantasy Fall promotion so we have-"

"It's May" Dean interrupted

"It's the title of a movie sir"

"Oh"

"This month we have our Fantasy Fall promotion so we have dragons, warlocks, princes, and princesses available with a purchase of a kid's meal"

"Okay fine, uh just throw in a princess I guess"

"That comes to $9.85"

"Thanks."

"Thank you and please come again"

Dean set the tray down on a table in the back of the restaurant, the only empty one in the entire place. It was still wet from being wiped down recently.

"Do you want ketchup?" He asked her as they slid into opposite sides of the booth

She shook her head no and turned her attention away from him for the first time since they left the house as she began unwrapping her food. He took his phone out and called the only person who he knew would understand his situation.

"Sam?"

"Hey Dean what's up?"

"Man, you wouldn't believe me if I told you"

"Try me"

"Okay, well for starters I'm in Missouri right now" He said rubbing his eyes with his free hand

"Why are you in Missouri? Are you working a case?"

Dean opened his eyes but right before he began to answer something Penny was doing caught his attention. Her cheeseburger was completely disassembled. The top bun was face up in one corner of the wrapper, the pickles were neatly stacked next to it, on the other side of the paper was a small pile of shredded lettuce which she was currently peeling off of her sandwich and stacking into the mound.

"Dean?"

"Oh uh no, I'm not working a case" He squinted at the little girl as she peeled the cheese off of the patty and folded it neatly onto another piece of the wrapper.

"Then what are you doing?"

"You remember Cassie right? Cassie Robinson?"

"Oh yeah. The racist truck"

"Yeah" Dean said distractedly watched the girl pick up the bare meat patty and take small bite out of it

"What about her?"

"I just went by her house today"

"Oh really? What does Lisa think about that?" Sam gave a hollow chuckle

"What? No. Dude, I'm not cheating on Lisa. I just, you have to see this for yourself"

Penny began eating her neat pile of pickles after the patty was done.

"Okay. Give me a call when you get back in"

"Yeah. Will do"

The line went dead. Dean flipped his phone closed slipped it into his pocket.

Penny was concentrating hard on her lettuce pile, eating it a little finger full at a time.

"Something wrong with your food sweetheart?" He ventured

She shook her head no and continued to eat.

"Okay" He cocked his eyebrows up and started eating his own cheeseburger. How was he supposed to explain this to Lisa? Dean watched the little girl pull the cheese apart in neat strips before eating them one by one. In person, he decided. He wouldn't tell her over the phone.

_____________________________________________________

 

The ride back home was the longest ride he could remember. It seemed as though they had to make a pit stop every half hour so that Penny could use the bathroom. The first one was the most stressful for him. He had let her use the ladies' room on her own while he waited outside of it. After waiting for ten minutes he started to worry. What could be taking so long? Did something happen? Was it possible that she had snuck past him without him noticing it? Or worse, that she had been taken. He was about to go in after her but she came back out and took his hand right before he did. After that he decided that it wasn't worth the worrying of letting her use the bathroom on her own and took her to the men's room. The first time he led her inside was the hardest for her, she clung to his hands tightly as he guided her to the stall with his hands over her eyes so she couldn't see the men at the urinals. She kept her own eyes closed when they reached the sink afterwards. She stuck her hands under the faucet and he washed them for her. Teamwork. The kid wasn't so bad. Penny was fast asleep in her car seat when he got back to Michigan. A part of him wanted to go straight home to Lisa and climb into bed but it wouldn't be that easy. So instead he called Sam and agreed to meet him in his apartment. Penny was a heavy sleeper, she didn't stir at all even when he took her from the car seat and carried her inside or laid her down on Sam's bed or when he closed the bedroom door as he left.

"So you're telling me that she's your daughter?" Sam asked looking almost amused by the situation "How do you know?"

"What do you mean how do I know? I was just down there. Cassie's mom told me everything"

"Okay but like, are you sure? I mean how do you know for sure that she's even yours?"

The thought hadn't even crossed his mind. It was clear as day that Penny was his.

"I know okay?"

"So what, did you and Cassie not-" Sam shrugged

"Man I don't remember it was freaking years ago" Dean ran a hand over his face. What a day, he was exhausted.

"Well, if she is yours"

"Which she is."

"What are you going to do about it?"

"I have no freaking idea" Dean sighed

"And her grandmother just gave her to you just like that?"

"Dude, she practically threw her at me and pushed us out of the door"

"That is weird" Sam nodded

"Tell me about it"

"So now what?"

Dean shook his head, pressed his lips together and shrugged. He didn't know.

"Well you're going to have to tell Lisa, maybe she'll let her stay there with her and Ben?"

"Yeah maybe" Dean said although he knew that she would. No doubts about it. "But since I haven't told her yet I was thinking that maybe she can stay here with you until tomorrow so I can ease her into it"

"Whoa wait Dean, she can't stay here" Sam smiled and looked at him incredulously

"Why not?" Dean asked seriously with a touch of surprise

"Dean I'm still a hunter. Just because you've retired and living a little suburban life doesn't mean I am" He scoffed

"Wow. Look I'm not asking you to raise the kid okay? I'm just asking you to let her stay here for one night"

Sam heaved a reluctant sigh and rolled his eyes.

"Is that going to be that much of an inconvenience for one night?" Dean furrowed his brow, palms up in confusion

"No it's fine. Just, one night" Sam sighed again

"Jeez, you would've thought I asked you to donate an arm" Dean grumbled as he headed for the door

"What if she wakes up and" Sam frowned "needs something"

Dean pointed to her pink bag "Her stuff is in there if she asks but I doubt she'll need anything. Did you see her? She's out like a light"

"Yeah well, see you tomorrow then"

"See ya" Dean nodded and walked out. Maybe if he hurried home he could catch a few hours of rest before breaking the news to Lisa.


	4. Chapter 4

Despite everything Dean managed to actually get a few hours of sleep before morning. When he made his way to the kitchen he saw that breakfast was waiting for him on the table. Waffles and coffee and both were still warm, Lisa had probably made them when she heard him in the shower. Ben sat across from him pouting into his own plate.

"Morning" Dean smiled

Ben didn't even look at him, he moved a stabbed a sausage with his fork and took a large bite out of it

"So I'm getting the silent treatment now?"

"You missed my game. You said you would be there." Ben grumbled into his food

"Ben I know, I'm sorry I couldn't make it. Something came up"

"Yeah I know, mom told me"

"Good morning" Lisa smiled as she walked in with the paper

"Morning" Dean smiled back and she planted a quick peck on his lips

"So did you get everything sorted out?"

"Uh no not really" He huffed

Lisa gave him a troubled look.

"Hey Ben why don't you go watch your Sunday morning cartoons" Dean said

Ben looked from Dean to his mother and back to Dean and nodded in understanding before excusing himself from the table and walking away.

"What is it Dean?"

Dean reached forward and placed a hand on hers. He didn't even know where to begin.

"Whatever it is you know you can tell me right?" She tried to give him a smile but it was forced, she was worrying

"Yeah of course, I just don't know how exactly" He gave a quick laugh "I don't know how to say it"

"Just say it"

"It's complicated. Really complicated"

"Just say it" She gave his hand a gentle reassuring squeeze. Then the doorbell rang.

Dean got it. Sam stood in the doorway giving him an apologetic look as Penny moved up the walkway holding her pink elephant and bumping her bag noisily behind her.

"What the hell Sam!' Dean snapped

"She was asking for you." He said casually

"You couldn't have just told her to wait until I got back?"

"I did but she kept asking, this was the only way I could shut her up"

"Hi" Penny said meekly when she finally reached the door

"Hi Sam" Lisa said as she slipped next to Dean

"Hi Lisa"

"And who is this?" Lisa smiled crouching down to Penny's level

"My name is Penny." She said shyly

"Hi Penny, my name is Lisa"

"Hi" Penny mumbled pulling the elephant close to her face

"She's beautiful." Lisa laughed straightening herself up "She looks kind of like you. She's not yours is she?" She gave Sam a quizzical look

"No, no she's not mine" Sam flashed a look at Dean

If there was ever a time that he should say it, this was it. "She's mine" Dean said

"What?" Lisa chortled

"Lisa, this is my daughter Penny. I just found out about her yesterday"

"What" She repeated, all traces of humor had vanished from her tone and face

"Yeah well I guess I'll just leave you to it" Sam clapped his hands together awkwardly and backed away "Good luck" He said with a flick of his eyebrows before turning on his heel and heading back towards his car.  
_________________________________________________________

 

"Ben would you please take Penny into the other room? Dean and I have to talk"

"Is something-"

"Now Ben. Please" Lisa snapped. Ben nodded and turned to Penny

"Come on"

Penny looked up at Dean.

"Go with Ben, go watch TV or something okay?" Dean reassured "You can leave your bag here" he added when she tightened the grip on her backpack. Ben took reached out and took her hand. "Do you like cartoons?" He asked as he led her out of the room.

"What the hell Dean?" Lisa spat when the kids were out of earshot

"I know" His shoulders slumped at the end of a long exhale

"You have a daughter?"

"Apparently" He sighed

"Why didn't you tell me that you had a kid?"

"I just found out yesterday"

"And you didn't think that was important to mention to me?"

"Lisa, I literally just found out. What do you think I was trying to tell you this morning?"

"Who's the mother?" Lisa huffed crossing her arms across her chest

"Her name was Cassie. She died."

"Oh, I'm sorry" Lisa said dropping her arms limply at her sides

"Yeah me too" He said honestly "I still can't believe that she never told me"

"Is that what that phone call was about last night?"

"Yeah. Penny called me"

Lisa ran both of her hands through her hair. "Okay. Okay. Well this isn't so bad, what's going on with custody?"

"Nothing, I went down there and her grandmother more or less threw her at me and pushed us both out of the door"

"That's strange isn't it?"

"I think so but there really isn't much I can do about it right now Leese"

"Okay fine, okay. We can get through this." Lisa breathed deeply and spoke in a calm soothing voice "You have a daughter, I have a son, it's not that big of a deal. We're a family. She can stay in Ben's room and I guess Ben can sleep on the couch until we find another arrangement. How does that sound?"

Dean felt a wave of appreciation flood over him as his girlfriend gave her the best understanding look she could muster up.

"You know you're really amazing" He smirked

"I do my best" She smiled teasingly and leaned in for a kiss.  
_____________________________________________________________

 

It didn't take very long to realize why Mrs. Robinson had looked so exhausted when he had seen her last. In fact it only took until the first night. Dean and Lisa had both been fast asleep in their bed when he first felt her crawling into the bed. Dean's first instinct was to reach for the gun he kept underneath the bed but he snapped out of it when he saw her big doe eyes peering at him through the darkness.

"Penny?" He croaked as he switched on the light "Sweetheart what are you doing up?"

"I couldn't sleep. I had a nightmare." She said softly

"What was it about?" He asked suddenly awake

"I don't remember, can I sleep here with you?"

"Uh Penny wouldn't you sleep in your own bed sweetheart?"

She shook her head no "I'm too scared"

"How about this, I'll come with you and check it out okay?" He slipped out of bed and took her hand

"Dean is something wrong?" Lisa yawned

"No, just a bad dream. I'll handle it"

Penny led him into Ben's bedroom and hid behind him clinging tightly to his leg.

"Penny, I'm going to need you to let go just for a little while so I can check the room okay?"

He felt her nod yes against the back of his leg but her grip didn't loosen.

"Do you want to just wait here in the door while I look around?"

She nodded yes again but just held on tighter.

"Okay up you go." He grunted as he lifted her into his arms. She instantly latched her arms around his neck and Dean checked the room from top to bottom.

"See Penny? Nothing to be afraid of here okay?"

She nodded and he set her onto the bed.

"Daddy can you stay here with me please?" She asked, her large hazel eyes seeming to triple in size and glaze over with a shiny coat of tears. "Puppy dog eyes are apparently genetic" He mused as he thought back to the many times Sam had given him the same look when they were growing up. The same look he had given him into adulthood too now that he thought about it. Dean sat in a chair next to the bed while she slept; he woke up in the morning to find her sleeping in his lap.  
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"Sam?"

"Dean, are you near a television"

"What's up?"

"Turn on the news"

Dean hurried into the living room and grabbed the remote. The television clicked on.

"-The brutal murder of 66-year-old Claire Robinson last night in her suburban home in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. Tina?

Thank you Tom, behind me is the home of Claire Robinson where authorities say was brutally murdered in her own bed from multiple lacerations to her neck, arms, and legs. No murder weapon was found at the scene of the crime and there are currently no suspects in custody but police say that they are currently following several leads."

"Oh crap"

"We need to talk. Now"


	5. Turning Point

They agreed to meet at Bobby's house because Bobby had been concerned about the whole Penny situation since Sam told him about it after he dropped her off over Lisa's that first morning.

"Television is broken but I got some magazines, but those are probably a little above your reading level" They heard Bobby tell Penny in the other room as he leafed through magazines and newspaper articles on his desk to entertain her with while they talked.

"Why did you take her along again?" Sam asked

"Lisa's at work, Ben's at school, and I haven't enrolled her yet"

"You couldn't just leave her then I guess" Sam nodded

"No I couldn't just leave a six-year-old home by herself Sam" Dean shot his brother a look. What was wrong with him?

"No yeah, I get it" Sam nodded again, it was clear that he still didn't understand the issue with leaving a small child home alone, Dean rolled his eyes.

"Got her reading Gun's Weekly" Bobby said as he joined them in the room

"Are you serious?" Dean scoffed

"Well sorry Mr. Mom, I'm fresh out of Curious George" Bobby sassed back "She is a cute one though"

"She is" Dean agreed

"It's the eyes." Bobby said waved his hands in front of his eyes in demonstration

"Okay can we get back to work now?" Sam asked, "First thing's first. Dean you were right, she is yours"

"Should I even ask how you found that out?" Dean blinked hard

"Blood test, I got some from Penny that night she slept over and I already had some of yours so I got a test done"

"What do you mean you already had some of mine?"

"You never know when it might come in handy" Sam shrugged

"You keep my blood around just in case it'll come in handy?" Dean gaped

"Dean, you're making this into a big deal and it's not. Point is that she's yours, now can we move on?"

"No, I'm pretty much stuck on the whole you keeping my blood thing" Dean cocked his head and bit his lip.

"Okay moving on, Bobby?" Sam turned to Bobby who grabbed a manila envelope from his desk and handed it to Dean.

"So I did a little research on the Robinson family and found something pretty interesting"

"What?" Dean asked flipping through pages of medical records

"They're all dead. Every single last one of them up to Claire who was killed last night"

"Okay but that doesn't mean there has to be anything suspicious right? Cassie died in a car accident"

Bobby took the folder from Dean and flipped through the papers before taking one out and handing it him.

"When the ambulance came to save her from the wreckage they found her throat, wrists, and legs split open. Sound familiar?"

Dean just stared at the picture of Cassie's mangled body, her wrists looked as though they were nearly hacked off. Her neck was split wide open; the neck that he kissed the last time they met. He couldn't take it anymore; he was going to be sick. He handed the picture back to Bobby.

"Any living relative that was alive at the time of her birth is dead, throat slit, legs and wrists cut wide opened." Bobby handed him another paper "That's Dr. Franco"

"He was related too?" Dean asked

"He was the doctor who delivered her."

"He died too?"

"Same way, a few days after she was born."

"What the hell?" Dean frowned. This can't be good.

"Sounds like something to look into" Bobby grumbled

"You think?" Dean sighed and ran a hand through his hair "Alright let's go Sam"

"Oh I can't go with you right now. No, Samuel just called me about a case about some missing kids and I told him that I'd go check it out" Sam frowned

"Are you serious, why can't Samuel handle this one?"

"I said I'd look into it. Dean, those people are already dead, they aren't going anywhere but these kids aren't going to stop disappearing. You go. I'll catch up." Sam said as he took phone from his pocket. "I'm going to get going. Keep me posted" And he left.

"Mrs. Kilmer, do you know of anyone who would want to harm Mrs. Robinson?" Dean asked the elderly woman sitting on the floral print couch across from him. She raised her cup of coffee close to her mouth but didn't drink; she just held it to her lips and let the long wispy trails of steam gently lash at her face.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

"No, I can't think of anyone who would want to hurt poor Claire, not after everything she's been through. Her daughter died recently don't you know? Left her alone to raise that poor little bastard child. No, Claire was as charming as a butterfly."

"I see"

"Where is the little one anyways? I used to always see her outside of the house wandering about like she was lost. Is she alright?"

"Yes, the girl is in" Dean chose his words wisely "protective custody"

"You don't suppose that she was inside of the house when that awful murder took place?"

"Mrs. Kilmer, was Claire acting any differently in the days before her death? Nervous, irritable, that sort of thing?"

"You know now that you mention it, Claire was acting a different"

"In what way?"

"Well not too long ago, I was weeding my garden and she had just come home from picking that girl up from school like she did everyday and I said hello and she just looked at me, ran inside, and shut the door. She even drew her curtains. Claire never drew the curtains even at night, I remember because I could always look through my windows and see the girl awake and watching television into all hours of the night. If you ask me, Claire gave her a bit too much freedom and spoiled her a bit but you know in this day and age corporal punishment is always twisted into child abuse. Truthfully I believe that a good spanking is what these children need. Why when I was growing up do you think that my parents would let me stay up late watching-"

"Mrs. Kilmer please, you were saying about the curtains?" Dean asked impatiently.

"What? Oh right, after that she kept her curtains drawn all the time, even in the daylight. Then she stopped taking that child to school altogether, then no more of that wandering outside aimlessly, it's a good thing she put an end to that too. A ditsy child like that wandering around could easily get snatched and then what?"

"Right." Dean fought back the urge to roll his eyes. His phone rang, the caller ID said "Sam's cell".

"Excuse me Mrs. Kilmer" Dean gave her a quick half apologetic half irritated smile and left the room

"Sam?"

"Hey Dean, find anything?"

"Yeah maybe. Just got threw talking to the neighbor"

"And?"

"I'll let you know as soon as I leave"

"Well hurry up, there's something I need you to help me with"

"Dude, are you kidding me? I'm in the middle of something"

"Trust me, I could use a little of your expertise right now"

"What is it?"

"Right up your alley. Call me when you get in" Sam ordered and hung up

Dean sighed at his phone and turned around. Mrs. Kilmer had poked her head into the hallway probably to listen to his conversation.

"Thank you for your time Mrs. Kilmer, you have my card, give me a call with any other information about the case if you remember okay?"

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

They lost it. They lost the shifter baby and a few hunters too and Dean learned several valuable lessons. First of all, shifters can reproduce and have shifter children. Second, there are alphas of every kind of creature out there and they are stronger, less vulnerable, and overall more powerful than the other creatures of their kind. Third, he really didn't like Samuel, there was something greasy about the old man that just rubbed him the wrong way. And last and most importantly, there was something seriously off about Sam. Something worse than he had anticipated. Dean just couldn't put his finger on what it was. Dean pulled into the driveway and shut off the engine. He should be out there, hunting, saving lives, and doing what he was good at. How long could he keep pretending that this little suburban life was working? It wasn't safe for Lisa and Ben as long as he was around and Penny, well Penny was a whole different story.

He heard the yelling before he even stepped foot in the door. Penny was sitting on the couch with her knees to her chest, her pink elephant held tightly in her arms covering the bottom half of her face. Ben was standing in front of her holding his Gameboy. His face was red with anger as he shouted.

"Why did you do that? It wasn't yours!"

"Whoa whoa hey!" Dean threw the keys and hurried over "What's going on here?"

"She broke my Gameboy!" Ben threw a hand in Penny's direction

"What's going on in here? What's all the yelling about?" Lisa asked walking into the room with a basket of laundry

"She broke my Gameboy mom" Ben huffed

"Okay and?" Dean squinted "Don't yell at her like that, she's just a kid"

"I told her not to touch it!"

"Okay, let's try to calm down a little" Lisa said setting the basket down

"I don't care what you told her Ben, I don't want you yelling in her face" Dean said firmly

"But-"

"No buts Ben, she's six!"

"Dean" Lisa snapped "that was a Christmas present I think its understandable to be a little angry okay? Ben let's try to keep the volume down next time"

"Keep the volume down?" Dean looked at her incredulously "She's balled up in fetal position on the couch over a stupid toy"

"It's not a stupid toy." Ben moaned

"You'll get over it"

"That's enough Dean" Lisa glared and turned to Penny "Honey did you break Ben's toy?"

Penny just stared at her without moving, her eyes sparkling brightly in the light and glassy with unshed tears.

"Penny you shouldn't take things that don't belong to you right?"

"Oh give me a break" Dean groaned and rolled his eyes

"Dean, what is your problem?" Lisa frowned "We talked to Ben about yelling, we should talk to Penny about taking things that aren't hers"

"She's a kid in someone else's house, anything she plays with isn't going to be hers"

"So, that's makes it okay to break his favorite toy and not apologize?" Lisa blinked irritably. Dean looked over at Penny just in time to see a pair of tears roll down her cheeks and in that moment he had enough. He reached down and lifted her into his arms. Penny rested her head softly against his chest.

"Where are you going?" Lisa called after him as he stormed away

"To go get Ben a new Gameboy"

"Wait, we should talk about this"

"Nothing to talk about" He shot her a look and grabbed his car keys "Don't worry about it"

"Daddy, I'm sorry I broke the toy." Penny whispered into his ear

"I know sweetheart, it was an accident" Dean said as he strapped her into her car seat

"Everyone's real mad at me" Her bottom lip quivered slightly as she spoke

"No, nobody's not mad at you" He sighed and stroked her hair "Ben's just upset that his toy is broken, it has nothing to do with you. He'll be fine once we go get him a new one"

"Really?" She sniffled

"Yeah really" Dean smiled and kissed her hair. Sometime later he would look back on this moment and realize that this was it. This was the turning point in his life; it was in this moment that he knew that nothing else in the world mattered to him aside from this little girl. Not Lisa, not Ben, not himself. Nobody.


	6. The Lady

The next few days weren't any easier. Samuel and Bobby had both volunteered to help try and figure out what exactly had happened to Penny's family, who did it, and why while Sam recruited him on more hunts. He almost didn't leave with him but he and Lisa had been in a rough spot as of late and things haven't been getting any easier. She had urged him to go, told him that they could make it work easier that way, told him that they needed the space to appreciate each other more and that she had been a parent for twelve years and could take care of Penny just fine. He wasn't so sure. He slipped his key into the lock, exhausted from the long day, troubled by the fact that Sam hadn't only just stood by while Cas tortured a little boy to get information, but by the fact that Sam had restrained him when he tried to stop it. Dean sighed heavily; he didn't have time for this. He needed to focus on Penny's case before… Dean shook the thought out of his head. Nothing was going to hurt her.

"Not if I can help it" He said out loud and walked inside.

"Penny honey, don't play with your food" Lisa said to the little girl who was currently peeling the skin from her chicken and placing it neatly into a pile on her plate. Penny didn't even look up at her as she stripped the last piece of skin off and started plucking her corn off of the cob.

"Penny?"

"It's just the way she likes to eat it" Dean couldn't help but to smile

"It's not good table manners" Lisa raised her eyebrows at him

"Are you kidding me? Ben's practically falling asleep into his mashed potatoes" Dean nodded his head towards Ben who was leaning his elbow against the table and propping his head up in his hand.

"Ben, elbows off the table please" She sighed.

Ben dropped his arm and slid it off the table "Sorry, practice really drained me today"

"That's okay" Lisa smiled "Dean, did Ben tell you that he got an A on his biology exam?"

"Wow, way to go" Dean frowned in approval "So you're an athlete and you're pulling A's, quite the double threat"

"Thanks Dean" Ben smiled bashfully

"How was school for you today sweetheart?" Dean asked Penny who had just started eating her shredded chicken skins.

She nodded her head yes and kept eating

"I got a call from Penny's teacher today. It seems as though Penny fell asleep in class and had a small nightmare. Penny, would you like to tell your father about what happened today?"

Penny nodded her head and ate another strip of chicken.

"Okay I'm going to just take this away for a second" Dean laughed and pulled his daughter's plate towards him. Penny swallowed and wiped her mouth on her sleeve.

"I fell asleep in class today and I had a nightmare"

"What was it about?"

"I don't remember but it was real scary"

"Think hard Penny, is there anything at all that you remember from your nightmare?"

"Daddy, can I please have a piece of chicken?"

"In a second, I want to talk to you a little first. Do you remember anything at all from your nightmare?"

Penny shook her head no and grabbed her glass of milk.

"The principal was really concerned, I have a meeting with her tomorrow. Are you coming?"

"Yeah I'm coming" Dean frowned and pushed the plate back to Penny.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

"…54-year-old Deidra Kilmer found dead in her bathtub by her husband around five o'clock this evening when he came home from work. No information is provided about cause of death right now but foul play is suspected. Authorities do not have any suspects in custody at this time."  
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

"Well it's got to be something major because everyone around her dies" Dean snarled into the phone

"No I know; it's definitely something. I'm with you on that"

"So help me Sam!"

"Dean, what do you think I'm doing?"

"It sounds a lot like you're looking into a vampire case right now"

"No, this is pretty significant, especially with these last two deaths. Definitely our kind of thing so yeah, I'm on board, first things first, I need to talk to Penny and find out what she knows"

"Good luck with that, I've been trying for days and got nothing. She can't remember"

"Yeah we'll see about that. Bring her over"

"Dude what are you going to do with her?" Dean laughed nervously but he seriously wanted to know.

"Just ask her a few questions"

"I told you, I've already tried that already and-"

"I know you did, I want to try. No offense, but your emotions get in the way with her a lot. Which is understandable, I mean she's your daughter but I think it'll be better if I ask"

Sam hung up and Dean closed his phone. He had to protect his family and didn't trust the situation enough to leave them here alone. He would drop Lisa and Ben off at Bobby's for a little while until he was sure that nothing was coming for them next.

Lisa walked him to the car and waited while he strapped in Penny.

"How long?" She asked when he closed the car door

"I don't know" He sighed

"I'm only asking because this is our second time over here, I have work and Ben and Penny both have school. You know I don't complain but I just have to know" She gave him an understanding smile

"Lisa, I'm sorry. I wish I could tell you more, I really do but I just don't know" He frowned

Lisa gave him a look. They couldn't continue like this way but what was he supposed to do? They could be in danger and it was all his fault. He couldn't leave them alone.

"I'll be back soon" He leaned over and kissed her. Dean watched her watch him drive away in the rearview mirror.  
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

"Don't be afraid now sweetheart, you remember your Uncle Sam don't you?" Dean asked the little girl clutching tightly to his hand as he led her through Sam's apartment. He lifted her up and placed her down on one of his couches just as Sam walked in.

"Daddy" Penny whimpered softly

"I'm right here sweetheart, I'm not going anywhere okay?" Dean looked at Sam cautiously, he didn't feel comfortable with already. "How long is this going to take?"

"As long as it needs to" Sam dismissed and pulled up a chair in front of the couch. "Hi Penny, you remember me right?"

She nodded yes, her eyes shifted back and forth from Sam to Dean and back to Sam nervously. The poor girl was terrified, it took everything Dean had not to pick her up and take her back home.

"Good. Now Penny I'm going to ask you a few questions and I'm going to need you to answer all of them very honestly. Do you think you can do that?" Sam asked calmly but it made Dean feel uneasy.

Penny nodded yes again

"Great. Penny, now I hear you've been having nightmares recently, what were you dreaming of?"

"I don't remember." She said quietly

Sam gave her a thin smile "I thought we agreed that you were going to be honest?"

"But-"

"Let's try this again. What did you dream of Penny?"

"I don't-"

"Don't. Lie to me" Sam snapped, a dimple flashed across his face in a flash of impatience

"Sam, take it easy" Dean growled

"Dean. I can handle this okay?"

"It's not you that I'm worried about Kojak, she's six. Take it easy"

"Look, you wanted my help so let me do this my way" Sam said irritably and turned his attention back to Penny

"Penny, think hard. What were your dreams about?"

"I don't- I don't remember, I- I don't know" She whined

"You don't know or you don't remember?"

"I- I don't know"

"Do people get hurt in your dreams Penny?"

"I-I- I don't-" Tears streamed down her face

"Sam" Dean cautioned

"Because people are getting hurt in real life too just like in your dreams"

"No!" She cried "No! Daddy, please!"

"Sam, that's enough!"

"You can stop it Penny, if you just tell me what you're dreaming of"

"Sam!"

"Relax" Sam barked at him over Penny's quiet sobbing

"This conversation is over" Dean glared and reached out for his daughter. Sam caught his arm.

"This isn't going to stop Dean. Are you really going to risk lives to spare her a few minutes of discomfort? Are you willing to risk Lisa and Ben's lives too? How about yours? How about hers?"

Dean snatched his arm away from Sam's grip. He was right of course but did he have to be so rough with her? It killed him to see her crying like that.

"You called Dean a little while back do you remember Penny?"

She nodded; her body was trembling softly

"Its okay sweetheart" Dean frowned

"Why did you call him Penny?"

"I-I had to. He's my daddy"

"Why did you have to?"

"Because he's my da-"

"Why?" Sam nearly shouted

"Because she told me to!" Penny cried, "She said that my daddy could help me"

Dean's eyes flew open. What the hell? He knelt down in front of her.

"Who told you to?" Dean asked

"The lady, she gave me my mommy's phone. She told me that you were my daddy and that you can help"

"Help with what?"

"Help the bad ones stay away"

"What bad ones? What did she look like?"

"I don't know. She was hiding"

"Penny when you called me, you said that you weren't allowed to tell me anything"

"My grandma said I couldn't. She said that the lady wasn't real, she said that my mommy would want you to stay away."

"So why did you call?" Sam asked suspiciously

"Because the lady said that daddy would love me." She cried

"And you don't know who she is?"

"No" Penny sniffled and reached out for Dean who picked her up

"Wait Dean" Sam rose from his chair "I still want to ask about her dreams"

"She's earned a break" Dean shot him a look

"Dean"

"She's taking a break Sam!" He snarled

Sam heaved a sigh. "Fine. Five minutes"


End file.
